Street Fighter: New Chronicles
by DeNice
Summary: Chap. 10 is up. Kaoru's mind is in a major need of some help. Can the person Rose is talking about provide her with what she needs?
1. FC: Welcome to Kaoru's Life

Disclaimer: Hello, all. . . This is DeNice. . . and this is the new saga to the New Archives stories. Things are switching gears, since instead of focusing on Darrell Markis, Sakura Kasugano and crew, we're going to the new addition to the team: Kaoru Miadama. Also, there's another gear to switch. . . I'm not the only one writing this baby. Chan Yoruyamaitha is also in on this, so you know this is going to be crazy. Okay, then, let's see what we can do! Make sure you review this!! Kaoru belongs to me, as well as any other characters that Capcom or any other company didn't copyright.  
  
First Chronicles: The Satsu Bounty Hunter  
  
Chapter 1: Welcome to Kaoru's Life  
  
My name is Kaoru Miadama. I'm currently 15 years old. . . and I'm cursed. That's right. I'm cursed. How, do you ask? How about I tell you. . .  
  
My father was a very powerful fighter who specialized in Shotokan. It's a really powerful style of Karate and it's pretty popular now a days. Anyway, that's all I remember about him. I don't remember how he looked anymore. I try not to think about him. . . for he's the source of my curse.  
  
My father was also ambitious, trying to be the best in this style. He got so wrapped up in his goal that he did. . . something. . . and he became a being of Satsu no Hadou. He tried hard to get it under control. Somehow he did, just long enough to get married to my mother and give me birth. Because his blood runs through my veins, I, too, am born with this evil energy. Damn him. . .  
  
I remember how I was always angry at everything in my youth. It always seemed to just spill out and I couldn't control it. Because of this my father decided to train me in order to harness the Satsu no Hadou within me at the age of 7. Only 7. That year I experienced harsh training from him. . . and on my 8th birthday, it proved to be all in vain. . .  
  
I lost myself. I don't know how and I don't know why. . . but I did. My dad tried his hardest to stop me but I killed him for it. I killed my own father. . . and mother. . . who was begging for me to stop. I killed both of them with my bare hands. . . I didn't realize it until I woke up the next day and found their bodies on the kitchen floor and their blood all over me. . .  
  
My so-called family relatives were afraid of me and didn't want to take care of me (and in a way, I don't blame them). I had to survive in numerous shelters, my evil energy growing stronger each and every day. I actually felt that I had a chance to control myself once I head that there was a great elder master of Shotokan. I don't remember his name exactly. . . but I think it was. . . Gouken or something like that. It doesn't matter to me since by the time I came up to his dojo he was long-dead. I was 13 at the time. . . Me and my luck. . .  
  
I finally settled on starting where my father left off and spent any time training myself. No easy task. I literally had to force myself to keep at working to achieve my goal. As I'm talking to you, I'm still training. This became a problem, since one day my Satsu no Hadou got so out of control that something crazy happened. . . and now it's always active in my body. I can control it, though, but every waking moment I have to keep it in check. That's what you call a 'living hell' I guess. . .  
  
So. . . what am I doing right now? Right now, I'm about to kill someone. Wait, it's not what you think. I've dedicated the last two years of my life and the rest of my life to destroying all traces of Satsu no Hadou in the world. It's not going to be easy. I don't know how many people are effected by it. . . and I don't know how long it will take. . . but once my senses pick up the last trace of evil energy. . . myself. . . I'll take it out. I can't let it exist.. . . even if I have to kill myself to do it. I'm cursed anyway, and no one cares for me, so why keep living once my job is complete?  
  
Uh, oh. . . my senses are picking up my next target. Ironic that it'll be inside a hardware store. I'm not surprised, though. I've actually dealt with the energy 12 times in different bodies over the last two years. Sometimes it was active when I found it, sometimes it wasn't. I didn't care what state it was in. As long as he or she had it. . . I killed him or her. . .  
  
I found myself running through the aisles, passing through random stuff like nails, hammers, and electric screwdrivers. I stopped around the middle of the store, the drills and screwdrives. and I stared at the few people who were shopping in that aisle. As I walked forward, my energy grew excited, telling me that I was really close. . . and my body rushed with adrenaline.  
  
{Is it her? No. . . How about. . . Yes. . . That's the one.}  
  
I casually passed a middle-aged man, who was looking at a flathead screwdriver and stopped, not turning around. My target didn't notice me. . . He looked just like a average customer. . . but his aura was nowhere near normal. Following my usual style, I spun around and began to deck him in the face only to have my hand caught and the screwdriver brought up to the bottom of my chin.  
  
"I see you don't give warnings, huh, little girl?" he asked in a cool voice.  
  
"Why. . . should I. . .?" I shot back through my uncomfortable position. He shoved me right into a shelf and looked into me eyes with the same cool attitude as his voice.  
  
"You know why I'm here, don't you. . .?" I asked.  
  
"Of course, child. You plan to kill me. Trust me. Others more experienced that you have tried and failed."  
  
He slightly pushed the driver further into my chin. I was about to use my free hand to swing at him but what if he already knows what I'm thinking. . .?  
  
"So you can sense Satsu no Hadou. . . Interesting. Too bad that talent's going to waste. . ."  
  
Even further it went, just about to go through. . . then I had an idea.  
  
{The Ashura Warp!}  
  
I focused myself and used my dark energy to teleport behind my foe, making him stumble forward. I then threw out my leg and nailed him in the shin with my sneaker.  
  
"You!!" he yelped while catching his balance. "I'll kill you!!"  
  
I then saw his eyes glow crimson red. . . and I braced myself. My new battle had begun. . .  
  
End of Chapter 1. 


	2. The Takeout

Hello, readers! This is Chan Yoruyamatiha. Yup, I'm the second half of the author for this story. ^-^ Anyways, please be patient with us; we're trying to work in some Street Fighters. You won't believe how hard co-authoring this thing is! It's pretty confusing... Ok, I'll up now and start writing.  
  
DISCLAIMER: 1) I don't own Kaoru or any of the Street Fighters in here. 2) DeNice owns Kaoru. 3) This story belongs to DeNice originally! I'm just writing the even chapters!  
  
~~~~~~~Chapter 2 ~~~~~~~ ~~~~The Takeout~~~~  
  
I felt the sudden burst of energy that he had released whirl around me like a sandstorm. Screams were heard from all around me as I saw people running and pointing at us.  
  
(Don't let your attention wander, Kaoru!) I thought to myself.  
  
As a reward for my carelessness, I felt a fist land in a vulnerable part of my body: my stomach. It was a very forceful punch, and I was sent down on the floor on my back several feet away from the man, who was now completely under the influence of the Satsu no Hadou.  
  
"Stupid girl..."  
  
He charged towards me as I sprang up from the floor and glued my eyes on him. I wasn't going to make the same mistake again...  
  
As I felt his grip place itself around my neck, I landed a kick in his stomach with the same force he had first hit me with.  
  
Bad move.  
  
I was slammed against a wall and I realized he knew every move I was making. It was as if our minds were connected somehow. His lips parted into a sly smile as I began to choke. His grip was taking the breath out of me.  
  
Hey, I'm still human. On human instinct, my hands began gripping his wrist and scratching his bare arm to no avail; it only made his grip stronger.  
  
"See what I mean? You're no better than the rest of them... only that you're a little more attractive than the rest of them," He commented, observing my feminine curves.  
  
At this point, I was desperate to get away from him. I was trying to think, and think hard. My time was running out...  
  
(What can I do!? He knows everything I'm doing... Ah! My knife...)  
  
I know this is so cowardly, but it was my last resort.  
  
Suddenly, my head sloped sideways and I stopped moving. My breathing slowed as I pretended to pass out. I could feel him looking at my face, even with my eyes closed.  
  
"Hmph... What should I do with her?"  
  
The instant I felt his grip loosen, my hand flew into my pocket and whipped out a small pocketknife. In less than a second, I deposited its sharp, thin blade into the back of his neck, right between a set of vertebrae. Cheap, but cunning. He screamed in pain, and let me go immediately.  
  
Now I'm not trying to brag, but once you feel my high kick hit your jaw, you're not going to be seeing colors for a while. Black will become your new favorite color. It's always been mine.  
  
My foot connected with the underside of his jaw and sent him flying against a rack of shiny new pliers. I went after him with my knife again, and I left the floor with nothing but a puddle of fresh, crimson blood.  
  
Sirens.  
  
"Shit..." I swore under my breath as I hoisted the shredded remains of his body up on my shoulders. Running through a crowd of horror-struck shoppers and employees, I found the rear exit of the store and stole out the back door as quickly as I could.  
  
A small stream. I could deposit the body here.  
  
"No.... too predictable..."  
  
My dark eyes wandered around my surroundings as I examined my options. It was either the stream, the landfill, or... obliteration. I chose my last option.  
  
Going to a secluded area behind an enormous old landfill, I threw him down and closed my eyes. The dark energy flowed through my veins and formed a dark aura around me. As I opened my eyes, I had already formed an orb of violet chi between my hands.  
  
"Owari..."  
  
One blast annihilated his body, so I had that taken care of. Emotionlessly, I sat down on the ground and stared up at the night sky.  
  
"Father... I hope you know... you're the one who made me like this..."  
  
And with that, I let loose the tears that I had held back for so long...  
  
End of chapter 2. 


	3. A Special Flower

Author's Note - It's my turn again! DeNice here, giving you guys the latest chapter in Kaoru's adventure. . . and finally there's a Street Fighter here! (only one, and you won't find out who it is until you read it) Now enjoy and review because if you don't, Kaoru will disown any ties to me and Chan. . . and I know that you wouldn't like that, would you?  
  
---- ----  
  
Chapter 3: A Special Flower  
  
Here I am, walking down this city street in Hiroshima. It was getting pretty dark out and I had to settle for walking around to another place for shelter. I don't have a real job so I can't afford a place to live. Any odd jobs I do were to put some food in my mouth and even then those types of jobs are rare. I sighed as I passed several restaurants that must have been there to taunt me. My mission often leaves me depressed a lot of the time. Like I said, I'm only human. Murdering for a living isn't something that you normally see form a 15-about-to-turn-16-year-old girl who hasn't even attended public school a day in her life. Yeah, I was home-taught by my mother and very well at that. I was so close to her. . . Too bad I killed her. . .  
  
Just as I started to slip into depression I suddenly felt something. It was some type of power chi. . . but it wasn't Satsu no Hadou. It was. . . different; something that I never sensed before. I shouldn't have been interested in it. . . but I felt drawn to it, as if it was beckoning me. I turned down an alley, letting my Satsu energy guide me towards this phenomenon. As I turned a corner, my stomach started to grow tight as well as all my muscles.  
  
{Whatever it is. . . it sure is powerful. . .}  
  
I almost came to the end of the alley and found another corner to go around. As I approached it, this new energy was really strong. I pressed my body against the building, about to look over the corner cautiously, but. . .  
  
{I see you managed to find me successfully. . .}  
  
I let out a quick but loud yelp, putting my hands over my mouth. Someone. . . spoke to me. . . but not vocally. It was in my mind. . .  
  
{Don't be afraid. Come. . .}  
  
I hesitated a little more before looking over, my eyes looking at a woman with her back to me, sporting dark purple hair that rose up all curly-like in mid air. She also had a white scarf around her neck and purple high heels to go with her matching dress. The stand out thing was that a very powerful pinkish aura was around her.  
  
{Don't worry. I'm just here to help you.}  
  
Help? Did she say 'help'? I exposed myself to face her, who was only about half a foot away.  
  
"Okay," I started, trying to sound tough. "Who are you?"  
  
A pause, then. . .  
  
"You shouldn't act so out of character," the woman said while turning to me. "I can see that deep down that you're a nice girl. Not even your evil energy can change who you really are. . ."  
  
At that moment I jumped back.  
  
"How did you know about that??"  
  
"I know a lot of things about you, Kaoru Miadama. . ."  
  
I wasn't surprised now. I was more like pissed because this woman won't answer me directly. I clenched my fists and tried to speak again.  
  
"I'm only going to ask one more time. Who are you and how do you know so much about me?"  
  
The woman's face was expressionless but her eyes purely focused on me with intensity.  
  
"If you're looking for answers than you'll get them. My name is Rose. . . and I specialize in reading minds. . . or rather, reading souls. . ."  
  
"You what?!?!"  
  
"I see you are a troubled young lady, having to deal with so many hardships in your few years alive. If you're willing then I can help you deal with your problems."  
  
I gave Rose a hard look. I can't believe that the woman can really read minds, let alone help me with all the things in my life that caused me to be like this. On the other hand, I had nothing to lose. . .  
  
"How can. . . I trust you?" I asked.  
  
"You still have doubts," she answered, more in a statement than a question. "It's okay. It's normal. If you do consider my offer, I'll guarantee that you'll be on top of things by your birthday; October 18th."  
  
That clinched it. She MUST be telling the truth about reading minds. I kept that date personal. . . for Mom and Dad. I sighed and surrendered myself to her.  
  
"Okay. . . I think. . . I can trust you. Now what?"  
  
For the first time, Rose smiled. "You take me home. It'll be your first training exercise to truly get control of your Satsu no Hadou."  
  
"Nani?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "What do you mean? I've got good control over. . ."  
  
I stopped. I remember that sometimes my energy can get restless.  
  
"Fine. . . What do I do?" I rephrased my quote.  
  
"Grab hold of my hand. . ."  
  
I did.  
  
"Now, I'm going to give you a vision of my home. . . in Paris-"  
  
I cut her off. "PARIS!?!?" I freaked out, my eyes widening. I've never been out of southern Japan, but I knew how much of a road trip that was going to be. . .  
  
"Yes, in Paris. I want you to focus. . . and use your Ashura Senka to get us there."  
  
"Uh, Rose. . . That's a pretty long trip. . . Isn't that going to burn a lot of energy?"  
  
"Kaoru, that question proves that you don't know the depths of your powers. . ."  
  
That comment discouraged me a lot, but what she said next rebounded me.  
  
". . .but you got a lot of positive potential," she ended, stressing the word 'positive'. You'll do just fine. You're a very determined girl. . . and maybe we can change that part of your mission to commit suicide once you're done. . . and maybe even spare some lives that have the energy already."  
  
I focused myself, closing my eyes and receiving a picture of a very beautiful mansion with a large field of land to the back and right of it, and a waterfront below it towards the left. I felt myself warp. . . and when I stopped I opened my eyes and gasped.  
  
"Look! We're already in Paris. Told you that you had potential," Rose smiled. The mansion was huge, bigger than I imagined. The entrance was to the left side on a pathway over the riverway that I saw in my closed eyes. Rose made her way towards the front doors but stopped once she found out that I didn't move.  
  
"What's wrong, Kaoru?"  
  
"Uh. . . I forgot. . . my travel bag. . . at the hardware store back at Hiroshima.  
  
Rose looked at me before smiling.  
  
"Hold on just a second. . ." she said before closing her own eyes. . . and within 10 seconds, a young woman came out of the mansion doors. She was of Chinese decent, having her hair in a large, long ponytail that came down to the middle of her back. She also wore a totally red outfit with an orange phoenix design that began in the center of the shirt and the tail ran down her left pant leg. On her forehead was a brick red headband that most of her hair covered, especially the braid in the back.  
  
As I stared into her hazel eyes, she gave me a friendly smile but spoke to Rose.  
  
"So this is the girl you were scoping out, Rose?" she asked.  
  
"Yes. . . How about you two introduce yourselves?" Rose suggested. The new teenage girl, who had to be swinging around 18 or 19, walked up to me and gave the traditional Japanese welcome (which I found odd because, well, she's Chinese).  
  
"Hi! I'm Mitsumi Yao. I came originally from the mountains in Upper China. . . and I see you'll be here getting your energy under wraps like I am, right?"  
  
"Uh. . . yeah. . ." I responded while stuttering a bit. "I'm Kaoru. . . Kaoru Miadama. Nice to. . . meet you. . ."  
  
Suddenly my Satsu no Hadou senses went off, noticing a very dark power within Mitsumi, but it wasn't Satsu no Hadou. It wasn't as evil. . .  
  
"Anyway. . . Rose, you called me out here, right?"  
  
"Yes. Kaoru left her backpack in a hardware store in southern Hiroshima. Can you locate it and bring it here?"  
  
"I'll try. . . but remember I'm still practicing this. . ."  
  
Mitsumi focused her energy and I backed away once I saw a black aura surround her. After about a few seconds, Mitsumi put her hands in front of her, exposing a small sphere of chi in front of her. . . and out came my gray traveling bag, a small tear on the side of it. She immediately turned off her 'portal' and sighed.  
  
"Wow! I didn't notice how many cop cars were around that store! And I'm lucky that I didn't totally rip your bag to shreds, Kaoru. . . Guess I'm getting better."  
  
I smiled at her then looked at Rose.  
  
"Hey, is that part of my training?" I asked.  
  
"Hmmm. . . maybe. . ." Rose responded, once again smiling. "Now let's go in and get you comfortable and meet some of the other individuals that I have under my wing."  
  
End of Chapter 3.  
  
---- ---  
  
DeNice: Hah! How did you like that? I know you like it. Come on. . . give me my props (in your reviews)! Now it's Chan's turn. Let's see what she has in store! 


	4. Fitting In

AN- Hey, it's Chan Yoruyamatiha here again. ^-^ No one's reading this story, so poo on everyone who isn't reading! .  
  
Chapter 4 - Fitting In  
  
Rose led the way up a fight of stairs as I followed her, taking in every detail I could. Her house was full of style; anyone could see that. She obviously liked colorful things, and flowers and scarves. Her house had an abundance of these things, and I looked around to see everything. I just wasn't used to seeing all of these things since I've lived on the street so long.  
  
As we ascended the long stairs, I stared at Rose, trying to learn things about her. Why was she taking me in this house? What did she have in store for me?  
  
Pushing back my sleek black hair, I soon found Rose and myself standing in front of a beautifully carved set of French doors. Rose smiled at me with a pink-lipsticked smile and opened the door, grandly revealing a gigantic room with several people in it, conversing in several small groups. As Rose and I entered, everyone immediately stopped talking and stared at me. I can't stand being stared at...  
  
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have a new student who will be staying here..." Rose grandly announced, putting her hand on my shoulder. I shuddered beneath the feel of her hand and everyone staring at me. I simply clenched my hands into fists and stared forward.  
  
"This is Kaoru Miadama, and she is new here, so please make her feel welcome."  
  
A little while later, I found myself sitting on a bed that Rose had told me was my own. I was staring at the light, fluffy pillow and comforter as I wondered exactly how rich Rose was to have eight of these beds in one large room.  
  
I was the eighth of several young people Rose was boarding here. I glanced around the room as they talked and glanced at me, but no one dared come near me.  
  
("Must be my aura...") I thought to myself. ("Everyone has a slightly dark aura.. but not the Satsui no Hadou... it's all something else...")  
  
There was a tall girl with long, straight, chestnut-colored hair talking to a slightly shorter girl with blonde hair, pulled back in a high ponytail. They both kept throwing nervous glances in my direction, as if I were some scary monster instead of a teenage girl.  
  
In another crowd, there were three guys, all of them gaping stupidly at me. One of them had short blonde hair and dark eyes, another one with shoulder- length chocolate hair, and the last one had black hair with long bangs; he looked Korean and had the face of an angel. When he saw me looking at him, he quickly looked away with the hint of a blush on his face.  
  
The last two people were a guy and a girl, obviously twins. Both of them had almond-shaped eyes and short black hair. They were about the same height and were almost exactly alike, aside from the fact that one was a guy and the other a girl; they looked even younger than me.  
  
I looked at my bag beside me and pretended to be looking for something in there. The first thing that came to my mind was my compact mirror. To tell the truth, I can be a little vain sometimes. It's not much, but it's the last thing I have of my family. My mother gave it to me only weeks before I killed her and my father. Its creamy bronze powder reminded me of her, even though it's hard to remember her. Maybe it's the soft aroma of it, the same aroma I smelt whenever I used to help her into her fancy kimonos and powder her face. But those memories are lost forever. They seem to be lost in this small compact make-up mirror.  
  
I came back to reality and found myself gazing into the mirror, completely lost in my thoughts. Quickly, I snapped it shut as I saw the three boys staring at me again out of the corner of my eye. How stupid I must have looked...  
  
The French doors opened again and Rose stepped in. She walked elegantly over to me and gazed down at me, a small smile on her sharp face.  
  
"Come downstairs with me, Kaoru. I've prepared some food for you to eat. I'm quiet certain that you haven't eaten in 26 hours and 14 minutes."  
  
I couldn't help but smile at Rose as I rose and walked down the stairs with her. (Lol... no pun intended)  
  
"Hm... you sound like a stalker when you say that," I joked as we soon reached the bottom of the stairs.  
  
Rose turned to smile at me again as I realized that this would be the start of a long and lasting friendship.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~[Sorry that my chapters are so short!]~~~~~~~~~  
  
Mwah. This chapter turned out better than I thought it would. I've had writer's block, you might have noticed since I posted Chapter 13 of The Reconciliation late. I've just tried to take a break, as advised from Trutenor. I don't think anyone has really read this other than me or DeNice, so I'm gonna start crying now... *Grabs pillow and lets out loud sobs*  
  
REVIEW OR I'LL CRY ALL THE WATER OUT OF MY BODY INTO THIS PILLOW. And then I'll like... die or something. X.X 


	5. Latenight Exercise

Author's Note: Yep... It's DeNice again... Yeah, ya wanna fight about it? Anyway, here's Kaoru's next step. It's not much... but she's going to develop something very precious here... Something she never had before... Anyway, just a mental note to the readers, this IS Kaoru's beginnings. Soon she'll come across others Street Fighters like Guy, Yun and Yang, Kairi, Karin, and so on. Just be patient, please. We're not trying to rush things.  
  
---- ---- Chapter 5: Latenight Exercise  
  
I was pretty full after I was done eating Rose's gourmet of French cuisine. I never tasted anything so good before and Rose kept insisting that I should eat up and get my energy back up. I literally forgot about my insecurity through the 20 minutes at Rose's huge dining room table, surrounded by all sorts of antique art.  
  
"So I sense that you're feeling better, huh?" Rose asked as she walked in her dining room and sat next to me. I swallowed the last of my food and smiled.  
  
"Yeah! That was great!" I chimed happily. Rose giggled.  
  
"I knew that you'd like that. You always wanted to eat some foreign foods after all the other low-level things you used to eat..."  
  
That was true...  
  
"So... now that you've unpacked and got settled... How about we work off some of that food you ate, okay?"  
  
I looked up to her, curious. "Yeah... like what?"  
  
"Follow me..."  
  
It took us about one minute to make our way from Rose's dining room to the back entrance. Mitsumi was already there, giving me a warm smile, making me return the favor. There was also that Korean teen that blushed at me earlier... and as I looked his way, he became shy and looked away again.  
  
{I think he likes me...} I thought, the thought making me feel warm inside.  
  
"Okay... Mitsumi, Kaoru, Yui... Come outside..." Rose instructed and we followed. It was pitch black outside in the huge yard Rose had in the back of her mansion. It was quiet, save for the rushing of water from the waterfront in the distance and shoes and sneakers making their way through the grass. Rose stopped and started to instruct.  
  
"Okay, Kaoru... this little exercise is to improve your senses... All of them..., that is."  
  
"Okay..." I responded.  
  
"Mitsumi, step to the side." Rose then looked at me. "Yui will be your 'target', so to speak."  
  
"Target?" I mimicked, raising my eyebrows. Rose nodded then looked at the Korean.  
  
"Okay, Yui... You know what to do."  
  
"Yes, Rose," he responded then ran in front of me and said, "Kaoru... before we start, I'd just like to say that you seem to be a nice person to be around. Maybe we can do something together later, huh?"  
  
I shrugged. "Sure... Why not?" I was actually flattered. He was the first boy who actually was interested in me... and in a good way. Yui smiled.  
  
"That's perfect! Okay, this is what you... have to do..."  
  
A gray aura surrounded the Korean teen then I grew wide-eyed as another Yui appeared right next to him.  
  
"You'll have to find out which one is the real me," Yui assigned while assuming a defensive stance. "Go on... Attack one of me."  
  
I breathed deeply and walked forward calmly. As I got close to the Yui on the left, I punched him in the face as hard as I could... Too bad I missed. Yui ducked and grabbed my fist, smiling.  
  
"Oh, I forgot to mention that I won't make it easy," he informed me. "You'll have to catch me off-guard for get me... and that doesn't guarantee that I'm the real one."  
  
"Fine," I said, while smirking, my Satsu aura surrounding me, then I Ashura Warped behind the other Yui, who wasn't prepared like the other clone. I grabbed him, my left arm locked around his neck and my right hand holding his arm, then I rolled back and used my right leg to take him with me. We made one full roll and I pinned him under me, smiling. He, for one, was rather surprised, yet impressed.  
  
"How did you know that I was the real one... and so quickly?" he asked as his mirror image disappeared.  
  
"My Satsu no Hadou is very sensitive to other energy. I sensed you as soon as you split. The other clone had no chi, so it was easy."  
  
"Not bad," Yui congratulated me. "Maybe tomorrow we can move on to the harder course..."  
  
"That's fine with me, Yui."  
  
"Well done, Kaoru," Rose congratulated me from behind. "Now for the second part. Now it's Mitsumi's turn to try you out."  
  
"As I got off Yui, who smiled as he got up and walked to the side, Mitsumi tapped me on my shoulder as she passed me.  
  
"We're gonna go father up for this, Kaoru..."  
  
I followed the older Chinese girl until she said, "Stop right there."  
  
I did but she kept going until I lost her in the darkness... Then again, I could hardly see the mansion or Rose and Yui behind me. It was REALLY dark, wherever Mitsumi took me...  
  
"Okay... Think of this as your awareness test," Mitsumi's voice called out from the dark. "I'm going to attack you randomly... and you'll have to either dodge them or block them. No teleporting, okay?"  
  
"Okay," I responded, getting into my defensive stance. Automatically, my energy went on the fritz. I gasped, my senses telling me that Mitsumi was EVERYWHERE around me.  
  
{Oh, man... She didn't say that she'd make my aura go all loopy on me... Now I can't use it and I gotta sense her the old fashioned way...)  
  
My ears, the 2nd best of my senses, picked up something to my left. I turned that way and blocked the wave of purple energy that came my way. I then heard shuffling to the right, and ducked another large blast of energy. Now she was BEHIND me! She was really fast, but I rolled to my side and avoided another blast.  
  
Left. Only... She's closer. I had no time to dodge so I put up my defense. Too bad it was a kick to my ankles, making me almost trip... I ate her next move as she grabbed me by me arm, pulled me close, and put a hand on my stomach. I saw that her hand was glowing...  
  
"Shining... Moon!!!"  
  
She blew me away with a big explosion of raw energy, making my stomach ache... especially since I just ate a big dinner. I fell backwards in the grass, holding my hurting belly, trying to recover from almost throwing up...  
  
"Don't get too comfortable, Kaoru!" Mitsumi yelled from my side. I scrambled up to my feel, away from her as she came down with an aerial kick. I then got back up, rushed in... and prepared to counter. Hey, she never said that I couldn't fight back.  
  
"Shoryu Baito!!!"  
  
I nailed the unsuspecting Chinese teen with a rising uppercut with my left fist, then my right, then I knocked her down with an overhead blow to her head. She planted face first into the ground, startled that I actually caught her off guard. She got to her hands and knees in front of me, which I could see clearly despite the darkness, and said, "Whoa... nice one... I... wasn't expecting to get nailed... but if that's how you like it..."  
  
She quickly grabbed my socked ankles and pulled them out from under me, making me fall on my back. I was totally surprised by that and Mitsumi got up quickly, backing away a bit, then raised her left heel up and brought it down as if it was an overhead kick. I barely grabbed her sneaker with my hands in front of my stomach (I was convinced that she was targeting that area the whole time...) and used my right leg to sweep Mitsumi off her feet. She once again met the grass and now I rolled backwards, trying to summon some energy out of my whacked out aura. I finally did and fired at Mitsumi as she tried to get up.  
  
"Hadou... SHOU!"  
  
A sudden wide blast of surge energy escaped my hands. It was the toned down version of the famous Hadouken that was widely used in Shotokan. I could have learned it if I didn't kill my dad... Then again... I wasn't sure if I WANTED that... Mitsumi was forced to block my energy blast, then countered with her own, raising her right arm and a swirl of purple chi entered it...  
  
"Dark... Phoenix... BLAST!"  
  
I let instinct take over and I also blocked Mitsumi's powerful blast, which pushed me back about a few inches. I never realized how strong she was, especially since I just met her... and my energy senses weren't up to par. The dodging exercise turned into a bit of a Street Fight between Mitsumi and I, even though it only lasted about 2 and a half minutes. I'm sorta surprised that Rose didn't stop us, but I wasn't thinking about her at the moment. We moved around in the darkness, nailing some moves, blocking others, and dodging the rest. We really tested ourselves in our short bout and we could have went on if it wasn't for this part...  
  
I backed away from Mitsumi, who I just stunned a bit with a blow to her stomach (ah... revenge...) and I cupped my hands to my side. We were both tired so I tried to end this quick. I was going to go for the most power form of Hadou attacks in the Shotokan library of moves... I focused, a blue ball of chi entering my hands...  
  
"Shinku..."  
  
I remembered how my dad taught me this one about 9 months into my training. I further charged it up, until small blots of electricity came out... and fired.  
  
"HADOUKEN!!!"  
  
I threw my hands forward, releasing the huge ball of energy towards my sparring partner. However, due to the darkness, I couldn't see that she dodged... until she called out from my right.  
  
"You mi-i-ssed!" she said sing-songingly. I spun to face her as I quickly caught the sight of her ducking down. On reaction, I followed suit and tried to knock her out of anything that she tried to throw at me by sweeping her again. Little did I know that Mitsumi was trying the same thing. Our legs met our supporting legs and it caused both of us to fall to the ground on our backs. All I really remember clearly at that moment was white spots in my vision from the force of my fall and the moaning that both of us were letting out. At this time, Rose stepped in.  
  
"Hmm... A bit out of the box..." she started, "but I think that was a great demonstration you two did."  
  
"You... mean that... you saw everything through all this darkness?" I asked, then I remembered. Rose is psychic. "Never... mind..." I corrected myself as I rolled my eyes.  
  
"Nice show, girls," I heard Yui reply. "Need some help?"  
  
"Yeah... That's... nice..." Mitsumi wheezed and the Korean helped us both up at the same time. Mitsumi then rubbed her back and smiled at me. "You know, no one here has given me so much work besides Rose. You're really good at this fighting business!"  
  
"So are you..." I complimented. "I think we should do that more often... after I'm not feeling sore..."  
  
"Yeah... It was fun," the Chinese girl responded. "Now, let's get inside. We need to go to bed... Tomorrow's probably going to be busy."  
  
---- ----  
  
"So, Mitsumi," I asked as I slipped into my bed, already in my nightgown. "What's with you? Why are you here?"  
  
Mitsumi looked at me from her own bed, which was right next to mine, and responded, "Well... About two years ago I let my hometown, Tong-An with my boyfriend to go off training all over the world..."  
  
"What was his name?" I asked. "How was he like?" Mitsumi paused than answered.  
  
"His name... is WangTang. He's older than I am by like 3 years or so, but he's cute. Short, black hair that was done in a small ponytail, always wore the traditional Chinese dragon outfits... He is pretty dedicated to his training and so am I. We trained under the same master, too. Maybe one day, when I go back there to Tong-An, I'll see him again...  
  
"Anyway, we met these two Hong Kong twins in Japan, where we were going to enter the Turn of the Century tournament. Their name was... Yun and Yang Lee..."  
  
I grew wide-eyed. "You KNOW the famous Twin Dragons?!"  
  
"Know them? We teamed up with them in the tournament! It was fun, although Yun did show his immaturity most of the time... Anyway, we almost made it to the final rounds... but..."  
  
She suddenly trailed off and I started to grown concerned, noticing that she turned her back to me.  
  
"...but that's when my dark nature took over... I rather not go into depth about it, and because of my outburst, I decided to go to Rose, who I heard was a great helper of dark entities, for help. I've been here ever since, and I like it. I'm just about over my problem, too, but I'll stay here and help you out, if that's okay with you..."  
  
"Okay with me?? I'd LOVE that!" I responded. Both of us smiled as Mitsumi laid back into her bed and sighed. I did the same.  
  
"Anyway... maybe you can... *yarn* tell me about yourself tomorrow at breakfast..." Mitsumi ended, starting to get really sleepy. I admit, I was feeling the exact same way. It didn't matter. It couldn't make me forget the feeling of being in a place where I felt welcome at... and for the first time, I had friends. I smiled as I laid back into my comfortable bed and pillow, and sighed sleepily.  
  
"Yeah... I *yarn* will," I responded. "G'night, Mitsumi..."  
  
"Night, Kaoru..."  
  
---- ----  
  
That's the end of Chapter 5. Hope you enjoyed it. Now it's my partner, Chan's, turn. Let's see how Kaoru will be in Rose's mansion regarding the other guys and girls living there. Till Chapter 7! Later, readers and don't forget to read my other stories. They'll answer any questions regarding the past events in the New Archives/Chronicles timeline! Remember, this is all one big saga, so make sure you read them all! 


	6. Confiding Dark Pasts

Hey readers! It's Chan Yoruyamatiha, the second half of the author, here! ^- ^ It's my turn to do a chapter... I dunno why, DeNice knows he could do this all by himself... :P He's a better writer than me. Enjoy the chapter! *Hugs*  
  
Also, thanks to all of you reviewers! DeNice and I really appreciate your reviews!!  
  
Chapter 6 - Confiding Dark Pasts  
  
The morning's dim light shone in on my face as I quickly sat up in my bed, fully awake. It was a strange habit I had to wake up early, and be wide- awake when I did. Judging by the way the sun was just about to rise, I figured that it was about 4:00 A.M. Perfect time to explore the house and take some time to relax.  
  
I yawned and put my feet on the soft rug beside my bed, wriggling my toes in it, appreciating the soft texture of it as opposed to the ground I usually slept on. Glancing around at the beds on my side of the room, everyone was still sleeping soundly. I stole a glance at the beds on the other side of the room and saw that someone was awake.  
  
Leaning forward, I squinted, trying to see which person was up before me. It was Yui, and he was busy putting on his white and red boxers and a pair of jeans.  
  
("Okay, Kaoru, give him some privacy...") I thought as I blushed a little and flopped back down on my bed, staring at the ceiling.  
  
"Ow!"  
  
I threw a look at him quickly, and saw him trying to do something.  
  
Forgetting that I was supposed to be sleeping, I asked, "What's wrong?"  
  
Yui jumped, startled, and turned around blushing.  
  
"Ahhahaha... I uh.. just cut my hand with my razor..."  
  
"Right," I agreed, walking over to him, not even realizing that I was still in my nightgown and my hair looked a mess from sleeping with it down.  
  
Yui let out another nervous laugh as he began to look through his bag in search of something. He pulled out a hairbrush and began to brush his sleek black hair, before offering me the brush.  
  
"Y-you can use it... if you want..." He stammered before retreating to the bathroom.  
  
"Ah... Thanks..." I said as I began to brush my own black hair, using the brush to flip the ends of my hair up and outward, a technique that my mother taught me when I was young. She had the most beautiful hair... It was always such a pleasure to play with her hair while she sewed me kimonos at night.  
  
Rose appeared behind me suddenly, and tapped me on my shoulder to interrupt my thoughts.  
  
"Good morning, Kaoru. Does this early bird expect to get a worm?"  
  
I laughed as I saw Yui come out of the bathroom, his face a bright shade of red. "Hi... Rose..." He murmured as he reached into his bag and pulled out a white tank to pull over his bare torso. "Morning..."  
  
Rose gave him a small, knowing smile. "Good morning, Yui. You're up at normal time, I see. I trust that you had... sweet dreams?" She smiled a little wider as I suddenly remembered that Rose could see into dreams and thoughts. I wondered what he was dreaming about as Rose led us both to the door.  
  
"Let's go ahead and prepare breakfast for the others," said Rose in a soft voice as she grandly descended the stairs, with heels on, at 4:00 in the morning. Yui and I flanked her, and no one said a word until Rose brought up the subject of dreams again.  
  
"So, Yui, you had a very... adventurous dream, and I don't think you dreamed much at all, Kaoru!" joked Rose as she gave me the usual smile. "However, I think I had a dream about teacups... How about we fix a pitcher of hot tea, before we cook anything? That should get us warmed up..."  
  
Yui and I nodded simultaneously in agreement as we reached the bottom of the stairs and arrived into the kitchen. Rose walked elegantly over to the stove and busied herself with her teapots and teabags.  
  
My eyes wandered around the kitchen, and fell upon Yui, who was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and his eyes closed. Glancing over my shoulder to see if Rose was watching, I stared at him for a while. He was so attractive... He had a proportional face and the way his long bangs fell over it was so... so...  
  
"Having trouble finding adjectives, Kaoru?" Teased Rose, still not even looking at me. I blushed and muttered something about the painting I was pretending to be looking at.  
  
"Uh.. you really seem to be into fine arts... Look at these Sterling Everett ones... Wow, all the way from America..." I commented as I stared at the flowers in the picture without any interest. Yui opened his eyes and glanced at Rose, and then at me. When he saw me looking at him, he looked away again.  
  
("He didn't seem so shy when we were fighting...") I thought as I walked over to Rose, with my arms crossed behind my back.  
  
"Can I help you with anything?"  
  
"Ah, no, child, I can do this on my own. Tea will be served in ten minutes. Why don't you and Yui go sit on the red velvet sofa in the den and get to know each other a little more? You two seem quite compatible..."  
  
Soon, I found myself sitting on the floor on my knees, staring at Yui, who was sitting on the sofa, picking at the laces on his shoes.  
  
"Um..."  
  
I wanted to start a conversation. It was harder than I thought, though.  
  
"So... what's your story about the dark... energy..."  
  
I ended up slurring my words as Yui gave me a sharp glance and flopped down on his side.  
  
"It.... it's something I'd rather not talk about..." He muttered as he eyed me questioningly.  
  
"Oh... sorry... I didn't know-"  
  
"It's okay. I guess I can confide in you," he stated with a hint of smile that made me blush.  
  
"Okay..."  
  
"Well... My mother had some kind of darkness that she never revealed to my father when he met her..." I saw him frown. "Well... she was four months pregnant with me when she finally told him. He was shocked, of course, and he... he tried to kill my mom..."  
  
Yui's dark eyes were downcast, as if he were becoming lost in some memory.  
  
"My mother told me all of this... she had to kill my father so that he wouldn't kill her first... After that, she couldn't live with herself. I heard from my late aunt that my mother kept trying to kill herself when she was pregnant with me... but she couldn't bring herself to do it... So when I was born, she did kill herself..." At this point, he was overcome with sadness and broke down. In my arms.  
  
I felt his arms go around my shoulders and his face rest on my shoulder. Then, I felt traces of warm water on the shoulder of my gown, and I realized that he was crying.  
  
"Yui... So you never met your mother or father..."  
  
"N-no... But I lived with my aunt for several years.. she also had the darkness... And then... one day... She was killed... By someone... I never found out who it was... But I kept having dreams about a tall, ugly demon with red hair..." Yui turned his face up to mine. "I think... it was him... he killed my aunt... my beautiful aunt Su-Chin..."  
  
"Shh... Yui, it's okay..." I murmured as I slowly lifted myself onto the couch beside him. "I can relate to the sadness... My mom and dad are dead, too... They died when I was eight..."  
  
"I'm sorry..." Yui replied, rubbing his eyes.  
  
"The thing is... I killed them."  
  
Yui's eyes widened and he turned to me, stunned.  
  
"You... you... WHAT?!"  
  
"I... I killed them..." I whispered. "I woke up one morning, and I found them dead on the floor, and I had their blood all over me..."  
  
Yui glanced down at the floor. "That... That's even worse than my past... I'm sorry..." He repeated, glancing down at his hands.  
  
I stared at his face, wondering if he was thinking that I was a monster or not.  
  
"Yui..."  
  
He glanced at me with an innocent look of surprise.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Yui! Kaoru! Tea is ready!"  
  
We both heard Rose's voice summoning us into the kitchen. We both rose at the same time, and headed towards the kitchen, out nostrils filling with the scent of the sweet tea we were about to occupy ourselves with.  
  
~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_  
  
Okay, this is Chan Yoruyamatiha doing what she does best: sparking romance! ^.^ Now let's see abut my partner DeNice. What does he have in store for us!  
  
PLEASE REVIEW!!!!! If you review... I dunno, I'll give you a hug. ^_^' 


	7. Good Morning?

Yeah, it's Chan again. :P DeNice hasn't been feeling sporty lately, and neither have I. He's kinda in a low right now, so I'm writing this chapter for him so he won't have to. 

Warning: LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG CHAPTER! Go use the potty now. And it's also overly romantic, and it might make you cry if you're all sensitive and stuff like me... x.x

DISCLAIMER: Rose and any other SFs belong to Capcom, Kaoru belongs to DeNice, and Yui is mine. Please don't sue us!! ;P

Chapter 7 - Good Morning...?

As Yui and I entered the kitchen, we saw Rose standing near the table, smiling at us brightly and wearing a lemon-yellow apron. All three of us sat together at the table as Rose poured us all a small glass of strong, hot tea. Glancing over Rose's shoulder, I saw a large oriental-decorated clock that read 4:30 A.M.  It would be a while before anyone else woke up, I hypothesized.

"So, Kaoru..."

I was startled to find Rose addressing me suddenly, and I nearly spilt my tea on me. Spacing was a bad habit of mine...

"Yui and you have settled some things, I believe..."

"Oh... yeah..." I said, searching Rose's eyes for any sign of a hidden meaning for her words. Yui sipped his tea silently and gazed at his reflection in it before turning his dark eyes up to my face. There was a sudden, silent link between us... One that couldn't be spoken, but I suddenly displayed it physically by spilling tea all over my lap. 

"OH CRAP!!"

I jumped up and did a kind of crazy jig, because that tea was as hot as fire and it penetrated through my silk nightgown quickly. And exactly what was I doing still wearing that stupid gown, anyway? Yui and Rose were dressed in everyday clothes.

"Kuso..." I muttered as Rose giggled a little and Yui blushed down into his lap, a shy smile curling his lips without his consent.

"Kaoru, are you all right?"

"Sure... I gotta go change this real quick..."

Using the Ashura Warp, I was sitting on my bed in no time, plucking an outfit out of my bag. I grabbed a black, pleated skirt and a simple white shirt. Hurrying into the bathroom, I hastily slipped my gown off and changed into my new clothes before teleporting back downstairs, where Rose had been counting the seconds I had been gone on her fingers.

"Not bad..." commented Rose as she poured me another fresh cup of tea. Yui smiled shyly into his tea as he took a careful sip and placed it back down on the table.

"Umm... Kaoru..." he began. "Do you... want to do some... training, later...?" Yui stammered out his sentence and silently was cursing himself for sounding so stupid.

"Sure," I replied as Rose smiled at me.

"That's great that you two are getting along so well!" exclaimed Rose enthusiastically. There was a short silence before a knock sounded at the main entrance door.

"Come in," said Rose in a sweet tone, but everyone was wondering who would be knocking on the door at 4:30 A.M.

"Pa-ke-ji for Su'ang Yui," called a voice with a Japanese accent from the door, that of a weary deliveryman. Immediately, Yui rushed off to the door to get his package. 

Rose and I glanced at one another in silence, equally confused at why Yui would be receiving a package so early in the morning.

After a while, he came back to the table with a small box in his hands.

"What is that?" Rose and I both asked simultaneously. 

Yui shrugged as he searched for a return address, but there was none. His hands were trembling as he shredded the package open and pulled out a letter marked READ THIS FIRST. Slowly, he opened the letter and began reading it. Rose and I watched him in silence, expecting an explanation after he was done with the letter. I watched his handsome, dark eyes move from the top of the paper to the bottom, and back up to the top again repeatedly. 

Suddenly, I sensed something not right. Taking a closer look at his face, I saw that tears were stinging his eyes and he was now biting his lip. He was about to cry...

"Yui?" I called his name softly and gently, but hearing no reply, I said it again, only a little louder. "Yui!?"

His hand knocked his teacup over, spilling the small amount of the contents on the table to his right. The paper fell out of his hands and near my left hand, and I reached for it as he buried his face in his hands and began to softly sob.

Rose and I stole one final glance at one another, and nodded at me and I slowly picked the letter up. I looked at the hastily scrawled writing in smudged black ink, and recognized it as being Korean writing, which I couldn't read. I passed the letter onto Rose, who stared at it in confusion. She turned it upside down, and began to chant out something that I couldn't understand. Then, she translated it to where I could understand it.

_Dear Yui,_

_Bud, it's me, Xai-Lehn. I just have a few final things to say to you. You've been my best friend for years, and I miss you lots. I really wish I could see you once more... But my life's turned into hell. Mom, Dad, and my baby brother got killed on the airplane when they were going to __Hong Kong__ a few days ago. I just found out about it, and I can't take it anymore. Look, in this package is my last gift to you. It's that pendant you bought me when I turned 16... It's meant so much to me these years... And I'm returning it now. Consider this my last gift to you, bro. This is the final goodbye, and I wanted to make sure that you knew I still care about you as my friend. I'll remember you even in death... Farewell, buddy._

_~Xai-Lehn_

It was a letter from his best friend... the worst kind of letter. It was a suicide farewell letter. Rose met eyes with me and I realized that we both were teary-eyed from the sincerity of the letter. Both of us felt the pain that Yui was feeling. 

A crumpling sound brought our attention to Yui as we saw his hand blindly searching through the box's bubble wrap for the pendant mentioned in the suicide note. His hand stopped moving, and Rose and I watched in awe as Yui drew out a long, silver necklace with a red dragon pendant on the end. Immediately, Yui broke down again and dropped the pendant on the table. His chair hit the floor on its back, and Yui raced out of the room, leaving Rose, me, the note, and the pendant in the kitchen.

"Yui!" 

I found myself up on my feet, chasing after him. 

("What... am I doing...?")

My feet seemed to have a mind of their own. I tried to stop running, but I found that I couldn't. They were taking me outside onto the vast grounds of Rose's yard. Yui kept running on without slowing down at all; instead, he accelerated his speed and flew behind a large oak tree near a dark, motionless pond.

"Yui!!"  
  


It was almost completely dark outside, but the sky was beginning to lose some of its darkness near the east which enabled me to see where I was going. Soon, I reached the trees near the lake and tried to figure out which one Yui was behind.

Stopping and ceasing all of my motion, I listened hard and heard soft sobs coming from a tree to the right of me. Slowly, I walked towards the tree and found Yui standing behind it, his forearm pressed against it and his face pressed on it. He was sobbing himself hysterical.

Silently, I walked behind Yui and observed him in his moment of total despair with high sympathy. After all, I'd had moments like this before. I knew what he was going through... But no one close to me had died recently, so the pain was fresh for him. 

"Yui..." I murmured and placed one of my hands on his shoulder, which he jerked away.

"G-g-go... a-www...away..." he choked and turned his back to me."Leave me... a-a-alone..."

A frown formed on my face as I removed my hand from his shoulder and stared at the ground. What could I do?

Yui landed a hard punch on the tree, and choked on a sob as blood began slowly dripping down the tree's bark. My heart began to break for him, and I suddenly realized how much it hurt me to see him hurt. What the hell was going on with my emotions?

"No..." I whispered as I once again reached out to Yui, who swatted my hand back away from him. 

"Kaoru!" 

He turned his pain-contorted face up to me and let another loud wail escape from his mouth.

"You... you wouldn't understand..." he coughed and struggled to get his breath as I stood there, my hands hanging down at my sides and my fingers brushing the sides of my thighs, gaping at him.

"Yui..."

I walked up to him and wrapped my arms around his waist and stared up into his eyes.

"I know what pain is, too... And I know what you need..."

"Stop it..." Yui whined as he tried to pull away.

"Yui, you need a friend to help you cope..." I whispered gently. "I just want to help you, that's all..."

I tightened my grip on his waist and gave him a small smile, knowing that smiles are contagious sometimes. But I stopped as I realized that he was in more pain than I had thought. He couldn't smile; all he could do was sniffle and brush tears out of his eyes. Suddenly, I felt really bad. I couldn't explain it, but I felt my stomach tie itself in a knot and become painful. 

"I'm... Yui... If you would talk about it..."

"I CAN'T... I can...'t... I can't talk a-a-about i-i-it..."

"You can..."

"Just leave me alone!"

I would never leave him in his time of need. Never. And now, he needed me more than anything else. I glued myself to him and rested my forehead onto his warm chest in the spot right above his collar bone. To my surprise, he didn't resist anything. He simply let his hands stay on my shoulders where he was trying to wrench me off of him before. He let his head fall forward as silent tears dropped down onto the back of my head, into my jet-black hair.

For nearly 15 minutes, we stood like this as he finished up his grief cry, but I knew it would come back to him later. A soft, shuddering breath from him declared the end of his crying, and I gently released him from my grip. Neither of us said anything for a while, until Yui sat down and leaned his back against the tree and stared into the dark lake. Dawn was beginning to break over the horizon, and it was a beautiful sight.

"Kaoru... you can sit here... i-if you want..."

"Ok..."

I sat close beside him and tucked my skirt underneath me to keep dirt from sticking to my bare legs as I gently placed my arm around his back. Both of us stared at the sunrise in silence, until he broke the silence in a gentle, controlled voice this time.

"I'm sorry I was being so unreasonable before.... I didn't mean what I said..."

"Don't worry about it. Grief does that to you..."

"Thanks..."

I felt his arm very slowly weave its way behind my back, as if he were timid to even touch me. I accepted it, and let my head rest on his shoulder. A few more silent moments passed as both of us wondered what we could say to the other.

"We... We sure seem to have a lot in common..."

"Yeah..." I replied, my eyelids getting heavy since I was so comfortable and warm.

"Yeah... and I was... thinking..."

I turned my eyes up to his and noticed that the cute, familiar blush was returning to his face.

"What were you thinking?" I asked, feigning surprise.

"Um... Maybe that you and me... Maybe we could..."

I saw him gulp. A million thoughts were probably churning in his mind, about what to say, and what not to say.

"Well... You like me, and I really... really like you... So maybe you could... Be my girlfriend?" Yui stammered before blushing madly.

I can't really say that this came as a shock to me at that moment, but I can say that I was surprised that he asked me that so early. Guys never paid attention to me because of the way I acted and looked. Yui, he was different... He was such a trustworthy boy... And only two years older than me...

"Yui... I'd love to be yours."

"That's... That's... great..." Yui slurred his last two words together before giving me a small, cute smile. 

To be honest, I was ecstatic. I think it was right there and then that I fell in LOVE with Yui. It was such a strange, new emotion for me that I didn't know what to do. I wanted to laugh, I wanted to cry, I wanted to scream, I wanted to jump on him and kiss him... I could do nothing but sit there and stare at nothing blankly.

"You ok?" he asked me, gently putting his other arm around me and pulling me closer to him.

"Yeah..." I smiled at him warmly as I raised my head off his shoulder once more to look at him. This was the happiest I had ever seen him, and it made me feel so good inside. 

Before I even knew it, I felt a sudden warmth on the left side of my face. Yui drew his face away and smiled once more at me as I realized that he had just given me a kiss on my cheek. This time, it was my turn to blush wildly. No one, I say, NO ONE had ever kissed me. No one found me good enough for a kiss but Yui. It made me so happy that he felt me worthy, I wanted to cry. Instead, I simply laid my head on his shoulder and stared at the motionless pond before my eyes closed and I fell into a deep, peaceful sleep in his arms.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ahh I love this chapter!!!! ^______^ It's all emotional and stuff... *wipes tear* Those are real female feelings, not just something crazy I made up. I've felt some of those emotions before and I'm surprised that I could portray them well with words. ^_^ Now give me your support... YOU KNOW YOU LIKED THIS CHAPTER!!! Give me a review and I'll get back to you all with the next chapter!!! 

~Chan Yoruyamatiha


	8. New Feelings For The Both of Us

Well it's Chan again. Hope everyone liked that last chapter because I really worked hard on it. ^_^  
  
DISCLAIMER: DeNice and I don't own any SFs that are copyrighted by Capcom, ok?  
  
Chapter 8 - New Feelings For Both of Us  
  
I awoke to a bright light shining onto my face as I let out a soft yawn and subtle moan. Limply, I raised my hand and rubbed my eyes as everything came into focus. The first thing I saw was a large, blue, sparkling lake before me. I moved my legs and noticed that they were wet with dew. I raised myself forward away from the tree, and I noticed that Yui was sitting beside me. This shocked a me a little at first until the recollection of last night's events came back to me.  
  
A small smile formed on my lips as I saw that he was awake already before me. He had been waiting patiently for me to wake up as well...  
  
"Yui... good morning..."  
  
Smiling, Yui consulted his watch and laughed, "It's almost afternoon, Kaoru..."  
  
"Wow... I musta been passed out for a long time..." I said as I gazed up at the sun. Judging by the way it was positioned in the sky, it had to be about 10 A.M. already.  
  
Yui pressed me against his chest slightly and rested his chin on my shoulder, a cute smile dimpling his face.  
  
"I'm kind of hungry... aren't you?" he asked, and I heard his growling stomach give the reply.  
  
"Yeah... let's go eat something..." I said as I gently removed myself from his grip and stood up, brushing the sand off of my skirt and legs.  
  
~~~5 Minutes Later~~~  
  
Yui and I stepped into the kitchen and saw everyone that Rose was boarding sitting at the table, finishing up their breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon. I walked in behind Yui and closed the front door softly. Everyone who had been sitting at the table turned to gape at us, blank expressions on their faces. Rose was washing dishes at the sink and turned when she saw us come in, a bright smile on her fair-complexion face.  
  
"Hello, Yui and Kaoru..."  
  
"Hey..." murmured Yui as he glanced at one of his friends, who had began giving him an accusing grin.  
  
"You two have been gone a while; is he ok now, Kaoru?"  
  
I nodded at Rose as I took a seat beside Mitsumi, who offered me the remaining food on her plate. I gave her a grateful nod and picked up her fork and helped myself to a mouthful of scrambled eggs.  
  
As I ate and endured Mitsumi's staring at me, I threw discreet glances over at Yui across the table and listened in on his conversation.  
  
"Yui... How'd it go?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"You know what I mean," grinned his friend.  
  
"Shut up. Nothing of the sort happened."  
  
"That's what they all say," his friend rose and slapped Yui on the back before heading back upstairs. I saw Yui frown at him before sipping a cup of heavily sugared coffee.  
  
Rose walked over to the table and took a seat beside me, placing a hand on my shoulder.  
  
"Kaoru... For today, I want you to try to talk to Yui about his late friend... see if you can bring the subject up and ease the pain away for him. You see, even though he is acting fine, a part of his heart has been wrenched away. He loves you, Kaoru. And you're the only one who can help him..." Rose whispered in my ear while patting me on the back. "Also, today you will start your serious training. I hope all can go well with you, Mitsumi, and Yui's practicing today."  
  
"Ok, Rose," I said as I gulped down the remainder of Mitsumi's coffee, before nearly spitting it back out. "What the?! Black coffee!?"  
  
Mitsumi grinned and giggled at me.  
  
"Just the way I like it. Sorry for not warning you beforehand..."  
  
"Oh sure, you were plotting that all along," said Yui with an amused grin on his angelic face.  
  
~ ~ ~ Later, 1:00 training ~ ~ ~  
  
"Yeah. That was a nice joke you pulled with the coffee and now I'm going to get even."  
  
"Oh, yeah? I'd like to see you try it, Kaoru!"  
  
I give Mitsumi a smirk. "Oh, you'll see..."  
  
"Ready? Set... GO FOR IT!!!"  
  
Without giving it a second thought, I brought my hands to my side, charging up my super energy attack. By now, I managed to get a feel of Mitsumi's fighting style and vice versa. She knew that my Shinku Hadouken wasn't strong... but she hasn't felt it full force. I was about to show her. At the same time the ball of surge energy formed in my hands, Mitsumi, who was standing a good 5 feet away from me, charged up her own dark energy attack in one hand, warming up...  
  
"SHINKU HADOUKEN!!!"  
  
"KURO FENIKKUSU BAKUHA!!!"  
  
At the same time we attacked, our energy attacks clashing against one another in a heated power struggle for dominance. Now wanting to be outdone, I push more concentration into my end of the deal, edging the battle into my favor. A few seconds passed... and my Hadouken started to edge out a few more inches towards Mitsumi... I smirked.  
  
"You sure you're trying?" I ask. "I'm going to beat you if this is all you got to offer today!"  
  
"Oh, Kaoru..." I hear her voice. "You're so naïve... You should know that I'm holding back. You want it all? Then here it comes!"  
  
{Uh, oh...} I thought, noticing that the purple blast started fighting back steadily. I found myself sweating while trying to ward it off, but as it came closer, it was obvious that Mitsumi was stronger. I abandoned my tactic and Ashura Warped out of the way, Mitsumi's attack finally overwhelming mine and going off into the forest behind me. I reappeared to the side of where I originally was, looking behind me as Mitsumi's blast collided with a tree and exploded, knocking it down pretty easily.  
  
"Come on..." I muttered to myself while turning back to my friend/sparring partner. "That's not exactly fair to hold back and give me false help, you know th-Mitsumi?"  
  
She was gone. All I could see was Yui, who was in the distance, watching us from a safe distance along with some other guys. I wasn't thinking about him at the moment. I wasn't thinking at all, really. I had a problem...  
  
"Aaaaachaaaa!!!!!"  
  
Before I could think, I felt a pair of feet rest onto my head. Letting out a shriek, I reeled backwards while lashing my arms over my head, trying to find out who was on me.  
  
"Hey, Kaoru! It's just me, Mitsumi! You might want to stop unless you want to continue looking silly."  
  
"Oh..." I said while stopping on a dime and stood up, noticing that Mitsumi wasn't really pressing her weight onto my head. It was like balancing a book on my head... which was weird in my book. "You mind telling me why you're on me like this??"  
  
"Just wondering how you could let your defense down like this," she answered while leaning over and looking down at me with a smile. "Maybe you had something else on your mind. You were more focused last night. Maybe too much Yui on the mind..."  
  
I quickly found myself blushing from that. "No, I don't! I... I... You just caught me by surprise that time."  
  
"That's for sure..." the Chinese teen assured.  
  
"Well, are you going to get off me?"  
  
"Well... Not really. I got an idea that could test your balance and power... but before you can do it, I need to see if you could manage it. Focus your power to it's max... so that your aura can show."  
  
"Fine..."  
  
Managing to get myself focused, I closed my eyes and tapped into my dark energy. I felt the power of suppressed murderous intent flow around and in me... and when I opened my eyes 4 seconds later, I found my black aura surrounding me.  
  
"Nice, Kaoru," Mitsumi congratulated. "Now, I'm going to press all my weight onto your head... and I'm going to time how long you can hold me."  
  
"Doesn't that seem a bit weird?" I asked. Mitsumi shook her head.  
  
"Why say that? You'll be surprised. It's harder than it looks... Ready for this?"  
  
I was about to nod my head but thought twice. There's a Chinese girl on my head. "Yeah. Let me have it."  
  
Instantly, Mitsumi stopped being light as a feather and felt like a real person. I felt my head give out some leverage but I regained control over myself. I stood up tall, channeling all my inner strength to my head so that the weight felt eased. For a while I seemed to be doing well in this test...  
  
"30 seconds, Kaoru," she eventually called out to me. "You doing okay down there?"  
  
"Yeah..." I replied calmly. This was a piece of cake...  
  
"Alright, then. Time for me to really stop holding off... Femikketsu Niaaage!!"  
  
"What??" I let out before feeling her lift off and jump off my head, she flipped in mid-air and came down on my head with a double-kick stomp, pressing me downwards. She quickly lifted off again and repeated this pattern... I don't remember how many times. All I know that I was straining to get used to getting my skull pounded on... and not countering. Every now and then Mitsumi would yell out my time.  
  
"1 minute, 23 seconds..."  
  
"1 minute, 45 seconds..."  
  
"2 minutes, 8 seconds..."  
  
By the time she got up to 2 minutes and 30 seconds of doing her Femikketsu Niage non stop, I thought I would have scrambled brains. The strain was having a toll on my energy level, which was dropping rapidly. One stop made me drop down a bit. Another made me fell to my knees. This is when Mitsumi started calling out my warning.  
  
"You want to stop now?"  
  
"Wh... wh...at..'s the... re...ecord... f... for th...is...?" I asked through unintended speech impairment due to Mitsumi's move.  
  
"I believe it's 10 minutes and 45 seconds. One of the twins did it. I think his name's was Vallen."  
  
"Wei...ird... name..." I said. I officially had my limit of stomp kicks. I rolled to the side, letting Mitsumi land on her feet to the grass. She took a pause, then looked at me, smirking.  
  
"3 minutes, 11 seconds, Kaoru. Not bad for your first try. You'll get used to getting your skull stomped on in time."  
  
I heaved a sigh. "Mitsumi, I'll be surprised if I don't have brain damage because of this..."  
  
This triggered a laugh from her. "No way. I'm able to not hurt you like that while doing these excersices... Well, that was a good workout. How about we stop for now."  
  
"Yeah... That sounds good..." I muttered while getting up and rubbing my head, which was starting to hurt since my Satsu no Hadou went dormant. At this time, Yui came over into the area we trained at behind Rose's mansion. He looked calm... although in his eyes I could still see him battling the fact that his friend's gone. I honestly felt sorry for him. I didn't have any friends to be close to besides the ones I got now so I wouldn't know exactly how he's going through, but I went thought enough pain to realize that he's going to be hurt for a while and that he's going to have to really get over it himself. As much as I hated it, all I could do was help him out...  
  
"You okay, Kaoru?" he asked while looking over my head to see if Mitsumi left any bruises. I simply nodded while now rubbing my neck.  
  
"I'll live... So what do you feel like doing?"  
  
Yui went mute after that, thinking. Shortly afterwards, thought, Mitsumi made a suggestion.  
  
"How about you guys invite me out to hang out with you as you explore the city of Paris, no? I'm pretty sure that Kaoru's not familiar with this place and besides, I'm sure she doesn't want to be cooped up at Rose's all the time."  
  
I twisted my face for a second before smiling a bit. "Thanks, Mitsumi. How do you like that, Yui?"  
  
I seemed to have broke his thinking as he let out a gasp and gave both me and Mitsumi an embarrassed expression. "Y... yeah. Sure. Sounds great. Ready to go out?"  
  
Both of us nodded, but before we could move...  
  
"{Make sure you come back before dark. We're going to have a special guest for dinner tonight and I'd like you all to meet him.}"  
  
"Rose..." all three of us sighed out. She wasn't there in person, but spoke in out minds. I still needed to get used to that... Also, I wonder who this person Rose wanted us to see was.  
  
"Well... you heard Rose," Mitsumi said while walking towards the mainstream leading towards Paris. "Let's keep the love-making to a minimum, okay?"  
  
Once again I blush beet red. "MITSUMI!!! I HAD ENOUGH OF YOU TEASING ME AND YUI!!" and with that I chased after a laughing Mitsumi with Yui following behind me.  
  
----- ----  
  
DeNice: I am SOOO sorry that this chapter was so long in coming. Too many things happened around my end of the bargain and also I was on permanent writer's block with this story, but I got something rolling. Hope you like it, since it's a combination of my and Chan's work in one chapter. It's Chan's turn, now. Let's see what happens with our trio in the heart of Paris. 


	9. A Day In Paris

Chan Yoruyamatiha: Disclaimer is same as always... tsukemono... (...pickles...)  
  
Chapter 9 - A Day in Paris  
  
Mitsumi, Yui, and I walked along the streets of Paris a while after we left Rose's mansion, enjoying the sights and attractions. It was great fun to walk and stare at the people, all of whom were speaking a language that we could not understand while staring at us three Asians.  
  
I brushed my black hair back out of my face as the warm wind blew it around wildly. Mitsumi had no problem with the wind, as her hair was tied up in a tight-fitting bun secured with a shimmering pink ribbon. Yui smiled as his bangs blew over his eyes, tickling the canal of his nose and his eyebrows. The sunlight shone down brightly upon the three of us as we approached a quaint little outdoor cafe.  
  
Mitsumi reached into her back pocket and drew out a translation book, her fingers scanning a page that she had bookmarked. Yui and I looked around at all the French customers sitting peacefully at small, polished, wooden tables under light-colored umbrellas.  
  
"Whatcha wanna eat?" Mitsumi questioned us, waving a menu in front of our faces as we sat down at a small table beside a couple who were about to leave.  
  
"I don't care," I replied, looking at Yui, who shrugged his shoulders.  
  
"Me either," he said.  
  
Mitsumi rolled her deep brown eyes before scanning the menu, trying to make sense of the French words and writings. A waiter came over, his gaze lingering on me before questioning Mitsumi. He looked about 20 or so, and had rich, colorful brown hair and eyes. He said something to Mitsumi in French, which I assumed meant, "What do you want to eat?"  
  
Mitsumi communicated with him by pointing to an appetizing looking dish of some sort of noodles covered with Saanen goat cheese and parsley. She then counted three fingers on her hand, staring at the waiter to see if he understood.  
  
The waiter yelled something to a coworker, and smacked a check down on the table. Taking a final last look at us, he marched away behind the counter, his eyes sharp for another customer who might be approaching.  
  
"So Kaoru... How do you like Paris so far?" Mitsumi asked me, her eyes sparkling with pleasure and interest.  
  
I smiled in response.  
  
"It's beautiful. Being out of Japan is definitely a wake-up call, though."  
  
Yui smiled at me shortly before pulling his wallet out. He groped around in one of the compartments before pulling out a single coin and laying it in my hand. I looked down in my hand and saw one yen.  
  
"Wow, Yui. Have you ever been to Japan before?"  
  
Yui nodded at me, and smiled at the memory.  
  
"Yeah, it was several years ago, though. It was during the summer, so me and Xai-Lehn went to Tokyo with his mom and dad to mess around... It was fun, really..." he trailed off with his words, and his eyes seemed to lose their focus, as though he was becoming lost in some memory.  
  
Knowing where this was heading, I moved closer to Yui and wrapped my arms around his waist, pressing him close to me. With a free hand, I brushed his bangs back out of his face and kissed his forehead, causing him to blush.  
  
"Whoo-hoo!!" exclaimed Mitsumi excitedly, frightening me temporarily. "You two have only been dating one day and now you're making out in public!!"  
  
"Mitsumi, keep your voice down!" I warned, but remembered that most of these people could not understand the language that we spoke.  
  
Yui shyly pried himself out of my grip as the waiter came over with our plates and set them down roughly in front of us. The waiter stiffened himself before sulking away, throwing dirty glances at us over his shoulder. I raised my eyebrow before turning my attention down to my food.  
  
"He must hate foreigners or something..." I said softly through a mouthful of noodles.  
  
"The French have a reputation for that, I heard from my pen pal in the United States. He said that when he went to France, somebody spat on him!" Mitsumi said, dabbing at her lips gently with a cloth napkin.  
  
A short silence followed Mitsumi's comment, but it was not an uncomfortable one. Everyone was stuffing their faces with the delicious French cuisine, and no one spoke until their plate was clean. Yui was the first person done, so he excused himself to the little boys' room.  
  
I watched Yui walk into the men's room and shut the door behind him before sipping my water. It tasted slightly polluted, but I hadn't room to complain when I compared it to what I had been living off of before I met Rose.  
  
"Kaoru, where do you want to go after here? I know of a lot of great places," Mitsumi said, slurping up the last of her water in an unlady-like manner that made several women around her throw murderous glances in our direction.  
  
I shrugged. I had almost no knowledge of what lay in this beautiful city. This was the first time I had never been out of Japan before in my life, and I had almost no knowledge of countries afar from Eastern Asia. Paris was great, though. It was a lot different from Tokyo in so many ways.  
  
I heard a toilet flush and saw Yui walk out of the bathroom, ready to pay the bill and leave. Mitsumi and I rose and walked over to the cash register, where the waiter who had served us leered at us. He plucked in a few numbers on the cash register as Mitsumi handed him the correct amount of change. Instead of smiling and dismissing us politely, the handsome waiter simply took one final stare at me and waved his hand, signaling us to leave.  
  
I twisted my face at him involuntarily, my feeling of dislike showing through. Unfortunately, he saw me making a grimace at him and whirled around, his eyes defiant and angry. Suddenly, my head started to pound and my blood ran boiling hot. I knew it then...  
  
He seemed to sense it as well, and clenched his fists. We stared into each other's eyes for a split second before I lunged at him. He dodged at the last second, thinking that he was going to outsmart me.  
  
Using the Ashura Warp, I was able to swiftly maneuver behind him without breaking a sweat. I quickly swung a chop to the back of his head, which he quickly parried. Shocked at how he could parry without facing me, I accidentally let my guard down, and paid for it.  
  
His foot came back and hit me right in the stomach, and it hurt, especially since he was hearing dress shoes with low heels on them. With another lightning-fast movement, he slammed me against the hard, wooden register stand. I felt his speaking tone grow cold and icy as his free hand grasped a lock of my hair and pulled on it slightly, raising my head up.  
  
"What the hell do you want, girl?" he whispered coldly in English, which I could understand, thanks to my mother's few years of home-schooling me.  
  
I remained silent, knowing that that would provoke him even more.  
  
"You bitch!! Answer me!!" he roared at me, yanking sharply on my hair.  
  
I clenched my jaw and winced in pain, using all my might not to scream out loud.  
  
"Kaoru!" There came Yui's voice. It was wavery and heated; he sounded mad...  
  
"Stay out of it," growled the waiter, turning his fiery eyes over at Yui, who had begun to tremble. The waiter had blood-red eyes... That could only mean one thing.  
  
"Yui, Mitsumi... Stay back!" I warned, before feeling the waiter kick me in the back of my knee.  
  
"Shut up," he commanded to me, turning his attention away from Yui, who was still trembling with rage. "Are you going to tell me why you're here, or am I going to have to... persuade... you?"  
  
Then, the waiter made the sad mistake of touching me where he didn't need to.  
  
The next few seconds following that were hell on Earth. Yui exploded in fury and gave the waiter a piece of his mind. I was also quite angry, and it ended up that Yui and I were tag-teaming the waiter. Two on one was unfair, but it didn't matter this time.  
  
"Unko! Don't ever touch her there again!!" bellowed Yui as he threw a hard, forceful punch right into the waiter's face, dazing him and nearly knocking him out. Mitsumi stood there, trying to reconcile with the frightened customers but it was no use. None of them could understand Chinese, Japanese, and most of them were not fluent in English.  
  
A few seconds later, Yui had officially knocked out the waiter, who lay sprawled on the floor with a very swollen, bruised face. I stepped forward, pushing Yui aside, and prepared to kill the waiter. It was my duty to kill those who abused the power of Hadou.  
  
I began to gather my chi, slowly at first, but then it began to quickly form around me in bright blue orbs. Carefully, I began to focus it on my hands, and it was then that Yui realized what I was going to do.  
  
"Kaoru...?" he began, but I didn't answer. This shouldn't involve Yui. I would actually prefer that he not see what I was going to have to do...  
  
"Shinkuu..." I began softly, as I began to focus the chi into one central orb. As soon as it was completed, I prepared to release it right into the unconscious form of the waiter, until I suddenly felt a jerk that lost me my concentration.  
  
"Wha!?" I cried as I felt my feet slip and myself being jerked backwards. I looked over my shoulder and was shocked to see Yui pulling me backwards from the body of the waiter. His arms were locked around my waist, preventing me from escaping by using manual force. "Yui, let go of me! I have to finish this!"  
  
His dark, innocent eyes suddenly turned stern and bold, quite a different take from his normal expression. I started, slightly shocked by his different approach.  
  
"Kaoru, don't kill him... You can't kill him..." Yui whispered in my ear, tightening his grip on my waist and pressing me close to him. "I don't know what you're thinking, or what started this, but no matter how bad he is, you can't kill..."  
  
"Yui, I have to!" I retorted, defending myself against this not-so-shy Yui. I knew that he was trying to protect me, but this had to be done.  
  
"No, Kaoru! That's not the way!"  
  
"Yui, let go of me!"  
  
"No."  
  
"Yui!"  
  
"No."  
  
I tried to wrench myself loose, but I soon found that Yui was a lot stronger than I had thought. His lean arms had more muscle under them than could meet the eye.  
  
"Please... I have to do what I have to do..." I pleaded with him, while trying to find a way to escape him without resorting the Ashura Warp.  
  
"Kaoru! Don't be a murderer!" he hissed, keeping his voice low. "I won't let you do this. This is something that you will regret later..."  
  
I suddenly stopped moving, and my mind processed his words.  
  
"We need to get out of here, Kaoru. The French police will be here any minute, and if we stay here..."  
  
Mitsumi seemed to understand the situation, for she was waiting at the doorway, ready to run.  
  
Taking a final glance over my shoulder at my failed mission, I felt Yui hoist me up into his arms and run out of the restraint boundaries.  
  
It took about 20 minutes of solid running to reach a safe destination which was in the form of a small, grassy field on the outskirts of the city. At least we were safe from cops now.  
  
Yui stood me on the ground under a large oak tree while Mitsumi collapsed onto the ground, her stamina completely drained by all of the running she had done. Yui also seemed weary; sweat poured down his face and he sat on the ground under the tree, his dark eyes watching my every move.  
  
I felt ashamed of my actions. Oh, why hadn't I told Yui about my motives for killing? Why didn't he know that I killed people every week? How could he not view me as a monster?  
  
I hung my head and allowed my sleek black hair to fall all over my face. I needed to talk to Yui by himself... but what about Mitsumi, my best friend? She should know the truth as well... but she could wait. Yui could not. He needed to know right now.  
  
Biting my lower lip, I sank to the ground and sat on my knees, breathing softly, trying to direct attention away from myself. They didn't know why I had attacked that guy.  
  
("They must really think I'm a psychotic nut now...") I thought to myself, glancing longingly at Yui, who had his slanted eyes closed tightly to keep sweat out of them.  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Later that afternoon, at about 3:30, I found myself sitting on my bed, ashamedly flipping through pages of a fashion magazine Mitsumi had lent me. Everyone else was outside training with Rose except for Mitsumi, who was taking a soothing bubble bath in the bathroom downstairs somewhere.  
  
I felt so guilty for not telling Yui about what my ambition was in life. To kill every single person who abused the ancient art of Shotokan, and then to kill myself at the end... To live such an accursed life was shame itself.  
  
The door opened suddenly, and then closed. I looked up from my magazine quickly, and my heart fell as I saw Yui walk in dressed in clean, fresh clothing with a troubled look on his face.  
  
"Kaoru... Darling..." he began slowly before sitting down on my bed beside me, turning himself to face me.  
  
"Yui... I apologize..." I spat out quickly, not wanting this to drag out any longer than it had to.  
  
"Listen to me... I just want to talk to you..." Yui reached over and pulled me close to him. His fingers began caressing my hair, soothing out every thread lovingly, and I found myself almost purring in contentment. Strangely, he knew that this was the easiest way to relax me.  
  
"Kaoru, I don't know what you were thinking today, but I was frightened for you..." he said softly and gently, making sure not to sound accusing.  
  
"Yui... I can explain-"  
  
"Wait, sweetheart, wait..." His voice was reassuring. "I want you to know that no matter what happens, I want you to be safe at all times... And today, I was scared for you. He could have really hurt you."  
  
"I know, Yui, it's just that-" He placed a finger to my lips to silence me.  
  
"I will let you explain, don't worry. After I finish what I have to say, you can explain all you want."  
  
Silently, I nodded my head.  
  
"I was puzzled at why you attacked him in the first place, and I was surprised at first. Then, I knew that you had to have a reason for doing that, so I didn't interfere for a while, but I had to, because I care about you."  
  
My eyes began to water up as he said that.  
  
"Kaoru... I just want to protect you from harm, that's all... And I don't want you to kill anyone else, because it will come back for you later," Yui said, giving me a gentle squeeze. I met his eyes as a flame sparked in my throat. I choked back a sob, but it didn't work. Faint memories of my mother and father came pouring through my mind, and I broke down in Yui's arms.  
  
Gently, he stroked my hair before laying me down softly, supporting my head on my pillow. He awaited my response as he sat beside me silently.  
  
I continued to cry for several more minutes, feeling completely emotionally dead. Yui did nothing but sit beside me and allow me to cry into the flannel fabric of his long-sleeved shirt. Emotions that I had always struggled to hold back came out in a constant flow of tears and wails; I couldn't stop them from coming.  
  
After a while, I was able to calm myself down a little. I sat up slowly and stared down into my lap. I couldn't look into his dark, compassionate eyes. I wanted to, but couldn't. My actions ashamed me, even though I knew it was my duty. Oh, if only Yui didn't have to get caught up in them.  
  
"Yui..." I began softly, keeping my tone soft and low so that I wouldn't sound brazen or harsh. "I really need to tell you about something you need to know about me..."  
  
"Yes?" Yui turned my face up to his oval-shaped one. A serious look played about his handsome facial features, and it was then that I felt a strong burst of love for him that I struggled to keep hidden.  
  
"I'm sorry for today... But if I explain, maybe you will understand why I acted as I did," I said, casting my eyes downward. I wished he would stop looking at me like that!  
  
"Go on..." he urged.  
  
I cleared my throat and wiped my eyes before continuing.  
  
"Well... as you know, my dad taught me how to fight using the Ansatsuken martial arts. There is also a dark energy hidden within it, as you can probably guess since I'm here..." I paused indefinitely. "And... I killed my parents when I was little... So you see, I want to put a stop to the killing that people who possess the Satsu no Hadou commit... I circle the globe, coming encountering these kinds of people and finishing them off..."  
  
I stopped and looking at Yui, who nodded his head slightly to show that he understood how this was connected to my actions of today. Sighing, I continued:  
  
"And so today, I was just trying to do my duty. I have sworn to take his on my own, and I try to live up to that promise I made to myself when I was small. And this killing... it doesn't exclude me. When I'm done, my life's purpose will be lost, and I will kill m-"  
  
Wham!  
  
Before I could finish my sentence, Yui had clamped his hands over my mouth and pressed me down against the bed. My eyes widened in shock and I met his gaze. I could see him pale and his eyes grow wide and terrified.  
  
"Kaoru... you must not do such a thing..." he stuttered, his hands releasing their grip on my mouth. I could tell that fear was causing him to quiver, and his hand was trembling. "I can't... I won't... lose you..." I could sense his vocal cords contract with emotion, thus causing him to lose his voice.  
  
'Yui, I... I..."  
  
The door opened. Yui and I looked quickly over to the door and saw Mitsumi standing there with her arms crossed.  
  
"Tea time, lovebirds. We can continue this informative conversation over hot tea," Mitsumi said, hinting that she had overheard our entire conversation. She turned her back and headed down the stairs, leaving the door ajar.  
  
Yui and I rose and also walked to the door. However, even as we descended the stairs, I could sense Yui staying very close to me; treating me as though I were a bomb that could explode at any given moment. A few seconds silence gave my mind a moment to rest, but as soon as I had pushed my worries aside, another problem even more important than the others emerged:  
  
("My mission... Or my love?")  
  
End of Chapter 9.  
  
Chan: Well, it's DeNice's turn. Let's see what exactly he has in mind for this story! The plot is beginning to spike into different directions now. It's gonna get exciting from here out! Please review. 


	10. The Eyes of the Bushin

Author's note: Yeesh... I REALLY have turned lazy, haven't I? Well... personally school's killing me. I haven't been to locate any of my stories that I write on paper, either, and I've grown a bit frustrated at it all... but hell, I'm not about to lie down and just wither away while these other writers come in. No way. Well, here's chapter 10. Enjoy.  
  
---- ----  
  
Chapter 10: The Eyes of the Bushin  
  
Dammit, why do things have to be like this? Seriously... I wish there was a door to my life that lets me exit it. It's all because of this energy inside me... If I didn't have it I wouldn't have all these problems... I'm not so sure if I want to keep this up... Right now I don't want to think about it. That's why I'm back here, hidden from sight of the others at the mansion in the trees. I just need too get my mind clear... but I can't. I can't help replaying the whole scene over and over in my mind... Yui restraining me from killing that waiter... Me finally telling him my purpose... and the one scene that really hurt me...  
  
Yui actually forced me down and told me, with more sincerity, seriousness and emotions than I've ever seen, not to go about the path I swore I would take...  
  
"Yui..." I whispered, my eyes starting to water. He really cares for me... I can't just turn around and...  
  
I let out a frustrated growl as I sat underneath the large tree, pounding the grass with my left fist while resting my eyes on my right arm and knees. Things could never be the way I want it to. All because of this retched curse... The anger that bubbled under my skin boiled under but no matter how much anger I felt, my speech came out in sobs.  
  
"Dammit, father!" I cursed at him so loud it echoed within the forest. "How could you...! How could you do this to me!? What did I do to deserve this? It's all because of you, you know that!? It's because of you that I'm a murderer! I hope you're enjoying yourself as you burn in hell!!!"  
  
My emotions went overboard and before I knew what was happening to myself I was crying. I hated crying... and I only seem to cry when I think about my dumbass father and his stupid ambitions... and his energy that he passed onto me. I don't like it one stinking bit. I pounded on the grass a bit more, this time slower.  
  
"I hate you... I hate you... I hate you..."  
  
I suddenly felt weak and I stopped punching the innocent grass below my fist. I rested my back against the tree trunk and closed my eyes, letting my tears trail down my cheeks. I just couldn't stop thinking about him and what he did to me... If it wasn't for him I would have been a normal girl living a normal life...  
  
{But if it wasn't for him you wouldn't have found Yui...}  
  
Ugh... No! I did NOT just thank my father for actually cursing me for the rest of my life! No WAY! I despise EVERYTHING about that man! I'll NEVER forgive him for this... Never, never, never, ever, EVER!  
  
{Stop it, Kaoru. Stop being in denial. You gotta admit that this Satsu no Hadou has its benefits...}  
  
Why am I thinking like this? This energy has been nothing but a nuisance. No good can come from evil energy...  
  
(It's because if it that you met Yui, Mitsumi and Rose... Especially Yui...}  
  
But what about my outburst? What about my overall life goal? How did he take that? He's worried about me... I can't stand him looking at me like the way he does now... It hurts me... How can I show him that I'm not some sort of psycho?  
  
{Kaoru?}  
  
Huh...? Another voice in my head? Oh... It's Rose... I sighed. Talking to myself was getting too weird and agitating at the same time. Wiping my eyes I responded, {Yes, Rose?}  
  
{You ok? It seems as if you're troubled...}  
  
{You know just as well as I do about what's wrong with me...}  
  
{Yes... but its basic human logic to tell someone how you're doing to feel better...}  
  
I paused for a second about that. Can I actually still consider myself human after what I did...? Or rather... after looking back at ALL my life? All I do is move around and murder. That's inhumane last time I checked... Do normal people walk around cursed with Satsu no Hadou? No. Not at all. At least once in life that person had to have been severely corrupted to even be qualified with it... Wait... Hold on a second... How could normal people like the ones I encountered HAVE Satsu no Hadou? I don't think they all had Ansatsuken influences... Wait... WAIT!!!!  
  
My mind went spinning after that. Things suddenly weren't making ANY sense at all! My head suddenly hurt just thinking about it. It really didn't make any sense at all! A person with Satsu no Hadou needs to KNOW Anstastuken to a point where they know the technique of Shungokusatsu and/or is so consumed by the art that they are absorbed by the will to be the strongest. So how...?  
  
I let out a loud, frustrated scream. I suddenly was insanely ticked off at my life. Just when did I become so blinded to the obvious? It sickening just thinking about it... What have I been DOING?!?  
  
Before I knew what was happening to me, hands clasped down on my shoulders.  
  
"Kaoru!? Kaoru! Calm down! I can sense heavy turmoil in your heart... Just relax..."  
  
I barely took that request into consideration. I was lost and confused... So many years I kept up this charade... All and all... if those people that I had disposed of weren't influenced by Satsu no Hadou... then what caused them to act they way they did...? It all seemed like a really good simulation of what I experienced but... now that I think about it...  
  
I calmed down by breathing deeply as best as I could. I took a few moments to gather myself and look into Rose's worried eyes. I knew it was her. She was the only one who can pinpoint where I am. How she got here, I'm not surprised. She does live here after all. For a while neither of us said anything... then as I opened my mouth to try to speak she cut me off.  
  
"Don't say anything, Kaoru... I already know..."  
  
I then closed my mouth, looking down at the grass and my black sneakers in front of me. I suddenly felt really, really guilty about my way of life. It was too much of a shock for me to swallow all at once. My whole body ached, especially my head, which felt like it was going to explode. Without thinking about it I rested my head against Rose's chest as she kneeled down to comfort me.  
  
"I didn't expect you to find out about this on your own..." she whispered kindly. "I planned that you would do some training under my wind and then, when I felt you were ready, I would tell you... but it seems you've been so heavy in thought that you finally come to terms with things..."  
  
By this time I could feel tears run down my cheeks again, but I didn't sob.  
  
"I... I just don't understand..." I managed to say. "Why did I turn out like this? Why didn't I find this out sooner? I... I'm so confused..."  
  
"I know... I understand what you're going through perfectly..."  
  
"B... but it's just that... My life's been a lie, hasn't it?"  
  
"Wha...?"  
  
I looked up into Rose's eyes and I spoke as she wiped the tears from my eyes.  
  
"...you can look into a person's soul, right? And if you knew so much about me... when we first met... then can you tell me... how things were really like?"  
  
I expected her to immediately give me an answer... but somehow she fell silent. I felt my heart turn unexpectedly as I saw her eyes... They didn't seem reassuring at all....  
  
"Kaoru... About that..."  
  
I cut her off right then and there.  
  
"Let me guess... You can't?"  
  
"I didn't say that. Please... let me finish."  
  
"...ok..."  
  
"You see... I know a majority about you before we met. That was pretty obvious because I told you. However... as time went on while you were here and I tried to look deeper into your life... I came to a block..."  
  
"A... block...?" I repeated, a bit taken aback at the fact that not even Rose could crack the lock to my past. It seemed way out there... and if I didn't know any better, I would've said that she was lying right then and there, but I wasn't thinking about that.  
  
"Yes. A block. I can't tell why that is, because no one else I encountered had a block to their true soul. Perhaps... there's something more to you that won't show itself..."  
  
I felt my neck muscles tighten up as I thought about it. Could it truly be something about me that's so important that it can't show itself...? Is it hidden within me? Before I could truly think about it, Rose kept talking.  
  
"And if I can't see it... that means only one thing..."  
  
I looked onto her with nothing but seriousness... She just looked gently into my eyes and then finished.  
  
"You may just have to find out the answers to your life by yourself..."  
  
For a while I didn't respond. Although I felt as if my reaction should've been bigger, I somewhat felt... accustomed to going about things alone. However... as I thought about it... I knew this wasn't going to be easy at all. I was going to be running blind... I couldn't even trust my own history anymore... Then again... I pushed off Rose's body while reaching into my shirt pocket... and pulled out the mirror that I held deeply to remember my mother by... For a while I just stared at it, asking myself questions like "But does that mean... my mom's not for real? Who am I really? What's my purpose...?" I mumbled them all out loud so that Rose could hear. I could tell that she could sense how I was feeling as she stood up and offered a hand to me.  
  
"Kaoru... I have someone waiting at the mansion. He's a close friend of mine and he can probably help you out. Do you... want to go through with what he might tell you?"  
  
Did I have a choice? Honestly, it wasn't because Rose was pressuring me to see this person... I literally needed to start somewhere... and I could use all the help I could get... but...  
  
"Rose?" I asked while grabbing her hand to stand up, "how can this person help me? I don't even know what I need help with... exactly... There's just so much—"  
  
"Don't worry your head about it," Rose cut me off. "We'll worry about it when the time comes... Now, let's go. It'll get dark soon."  
  
"Ok..."  
  
Rose held my shoulders as she walked with me. As we made our way back I couldn't help but feel a little bit of every emotion that was humanly possible. I think the most dominant though was loneliness... not due to the fact that I didn't have anyone that cared for me, but for the fact that I didn't know who I truly was... I help alienated in my own body... I heaved a few heavy sighs on the way there...  
  
---- ----  
  
"Are you ready, Kaoru?"  
  
I gave Rose a look of total seriousness. "I'm as ready as I'll ever be," I said quietly. Rose nodded and we both went through the door. It took us a few minutes to get upstairs to the door that led to the balcony on the third floor. The balcony faced the waterfront and the city of Paris, where the sun was setting towards the right. There were a few white tables on the balcony accompanied by chairs, the chair all the way to the left showing a stranger. He wore some type of red and orange outfit and sneakers and had short hair. He was facing away from Rose and me so I couldn't fully see his face, his arms crossed as if contemplating something. We approached him but we didn't confront him. I just at him for a long while, wondering what was going to happen next. However, I didn't need to ask myself that for long.  
  
"So... You're Kaoru Miadama, I see..." he said in a somewhat low tone of voice. I felt my neck tense up a bit. There's was something about the way he said it... It was with so much confidence...  
  
"Y... yes..." I responded, not meaning to stutter. His head tucked down a bit and then he spun around so I can see his face. The moment we made eye contact I knew.... There was something about him. Something out of the ordinary... It was like he was looking right at my insides...  
  
"Yes..." he went on. "You're exactly what I sensed. That energy..."  
  
He paused for a while, and then he continued. "Kid, let me tell you something... The way I see things as Rose tells me, you have no solid direction in life."  
  
"Huh?" I let out instantly. "What do you mean? I... I mean I now know that what I was doing before was wrong, but..."  
  
"Hold on, Kaoru," the stranger cut me off. "You didn't let me finish..."  
  
"Oh."  
  
Somewhat feeling a bit stupid, I sat down across from him, and focused all my senses on him. He kept going on.  
  
"Before we go on, I'd like to formally introduce myself... Guy: Master of the style of Bushin Ninjitsu."  
  
My eyebrows went up. "Oh? I... I knew I've seen you before... Somewhere..."  
  
"Yes, well... I'm not going to sit here and say that I'm surprised. Anyway, that's a bit besides the point. Our main focus is trying to figure out what you're life is worth. I know that you've been asking that question a lot as of late. What you are. What is your purpose in life. Who your family is. What your past really was..."  
  
Silence went through for a while after Guy finished. I was making sure I was paying attention to everything he was telling me, since I had this feeling that it was going to change how my life was going to go forever...  
  
"They say that nothing can escape the eyes of a Bushin," Guy went on. "They also say that the eyes of the Bushin can reveal anything and everything about his target. As much as I would like to flat out tell you the answers to the questions that you seek, I can only tell you how you should go about it."  
  
"I understand..." I said right afterwards.  
  
"Your energy.... The energy that you've condemned as a curse... You call it the legendary "Satsu no Hadou." I'll tell you this much... As I sit here, if you were really an inheritor of that surge energy, I wouldn't be sitting here just talking. That's for sure. That same murderous intent... It's in you... but in a way, it's not the same...."  
  
"Huh?" I gasped, thrown back a bit even though I heard Rose say that before. "Are you saying that...?"  
  
"I'm not sure," Guy went on, his eyes softening just a little. "If it is, then you're a special case; a rare carrier that somehow doesn't have the same properties as a normal one. Darker skin... Blood red eyes... True murderous intent... It seems you carry neither of these traits; the ones that really define a Satsu holder."  
  
Something in my stomach dropped right there as Guy continued. "I'm not sure how you've been taught of Satsu no Hadou. Perhaps not clearly or not enough, but what you have inside of you... It's actual ki energy... It's somewhat close to actual Satsu no Hadou..."  
  
"Then what is it?" I asked anxiously.  
  
"As I said before, I'm not sure. Something like this has never crossed my eyes before... However, it seems as if you've been seeing this for a while..."  
  
I immediately pictured the guy back at the restaurant in my mind... and then the many others before him. "That's.... That's true..." I whispered.  
  
"The best Rose and I can do is help you become ready for whatever you might face. Your nature is unlike the others I've seen before... It's something that's never been recorded before, and since you're the only one with this predicament, you're the only one who can actually discover the mysteries in your life. You understand?"  
  
I nodded without any thought about it. "Yes."  
  
Guy's eyebrows furred up a bit. "That determination... Yes. I believe you can face whatever's in front of you. If I came all the way to see you, I knew that it'll be something out of the ordinary. I needed to see if you were able..."  
  
That's something that now I knew I had. If I was going to find out about my real past, I was going to need to be ready myself. In body, mind, and spirit. That's all I had left...  
  
"However," Guy went on. "I suggest you make sure you're ready. Stay with Rose a while... Finish the sessions that she's holding for you. It's for the best. You shouldn't go off now... Just a word of advice."  
  
I immediately took that to heart. "Okay, I will."  
  
Guy closed his eyes and lowered his head, as if thinking. "Now... if I'm right, it's late. Rose?"  
  
"Guy?" she replied, speaking for the first time in the conversation.  
  
"I best be off. Leaving Cody and the rest back in Retro City is a chance I can't take for long. If you need me you know how to contact me."  
  
"Of course. I'll walk you out."  
  
I watched as Guy got up from his chair and walked past me to Rose and disappeared through the door, carrying a short conversation. I found myself alone, let with all these thoughts in my mind... I looked towards the sunset over the riverfront and sighed. I had a long road ahead of me... I was going to find out about myself...  
  
"Kaoru?"  
  
An unexpected voice rang out from behind me. I spun around...  
  
"Yui?"  
  
Indeed it was him. He had changed his clothes into something more comfortable for the brisk weather outside. He just stood at the doorway, looking into me with his solid eyes. I could sense something within him... Something big... like a heavy load...  
  
"What is it, Yui?" I asked again.  
  
"There's something I need to tell you..."  
  
----- ----  
  
End of the chap. Chan's turn. Things have picked up indeed. Hopefully this'll relieve my writer's block on this story... Well, how am I driving? Contact me through the reviews, please. 


End file.
